Proving and protecting your identity

Get a birth certificate

Your New Zealand birth certificate can be used as official ID for most things. It costs $33 to get a standard one sent to you, $35 for a decorative one or $55 for a pack with a standard and a decorative birth certificate.

Get a marriage certificate

Your New Zealand marriage or civil union certificate is an official record of your marriage. It costs $33 to get one sent to you.

Get a death certificate

You might need a death certificate if you're administering someone's estate or applying for a funeral grant from Work and Income or ACC.

Access to your birth, marriage and name change records

Birth, death, marriage, civil union and name change records are a public register — anyone can generally request copies of someone's information. You can see who's accessed your records since 2009 or block access to them if your safety is at risk.

Translating official documents

Get an official translation so you can use a New Zealand government document, like a birth certificate, overseas.

Use your NZ documents overseas

When you need to use a New Zealand document in another country, you might be asked to get the document apostilled or authenticated. Some countries call this legalisation.

• Authentication Unit document requirements
• Verify an apostille

What is RealMe?

RealMe is the secure way to prove who you are online. You can use it in two ways: to prove who you are when you’re online, and to log into lots of NZ government sites and services.